More S&P Downgrades in Spain
"Last week we saw that Standard & Poor's had downgraded the credit ratings of Spain to BBB-. The move might as well have been a formal cut to junk bond status because the outlook was negative. Our take remains static: you have not seen the last of the credit rating downgrades for Spain nor for the rest of the PIIGS. Now we have seen today several regional cuts in Spain following last week's downgrade of the nation."

The primary factor behind population decline is energy decline. Flagging economies will of course discourage people from having babies, but shortages of food and fuel will have a devastating impact. -- RF

"This outcome of the highly publicized military drills — not publicly known until now — underscores how difficult it may be for the United States and its partners to detect and incapacitate waterborne explosive devices that Iran has threatened to plant if its nuclear facilities come under attack."

The mood turns dark (India)
"Unpredictable and long spells of power cut have begun to infuriate people in most parts of the State. With domestic consumers of electricity experiencing, on an average, 12 to 14 hours of load-shedding, there are increasing signs of people losing their patience."

"The concern now is that the Iranians are driving to develop their own cyber weapons -- and recent evidence suggests they're well advanced -- to strike back against the United States and Israel in what Rear Adm. Samuel Cox, director of intelligence at the U.S. Cyber Command, calls 'a global cyber arms race.'"

"Crumbling canals, dams and pipelines and a lack of funds to expand, replace and maintain them threatens to stymie economic growth and efforts to tackle a 25 percent unemployment rate in Africa's biggest economy."